Till the End of Time: Ocean of Eternity
by arekuruu-inabikari-no-She
Summary: With the disappearance of Akane, months after Ranma's battle with Saffron. Our pigtailed hero decides to take a long training to improve himself and meets two people that will lead him to a journey that may last till the end of time. X-over story by MidBo
1. Prologue I: Inexcusable Sin

Disclaimer: Neither Mid-Boss nor I own Ranma ½ which belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-san or Star Ocean: Till the End of Time or any other anime that may appear in our story.

"Dialogue"

((Thoughts))

Original characters Ray Yagami belongs to Mid-Boss and Maaya Yamamoto belongs to me, arekuruu-inabikari-no-she

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_Prologue 1:_

_Inexcusable Sin_

"What a boring day." the man said cracking his neck as he laid down on a couch in the 'living room' of their ship which was currently docked on a spaceport.

He looked between 21-24 years of age; had long brown hair tied in a ponytail, and a lean muscular build. The man wore a tight black leather jacket with a wrinkled red muscle shirt underneath and black leather pants. Currently he and his partner were just waiting for another bounty or job offer to be posted on the net, so while they waited, both decided to have a short vacation.

He looked to his right and turned on his laptop with an outstretched arm, having been too lazy and worn out to sit up.

He heard the door leading to his sleeping quarters open with an audible 'whoosh' and a green haired woman came out wearing very provocative clothes. The woman looked at the man lying on the couch and smiled seductively at him.

"I had a great time, Ray. Just call me when you come back again ok?" the woman said to Ray but pouted when he didn't respond.

She saw him closing his eyes and smiled sadly, "Guess I'll show myself out then. I'll see you later." with that the woman went out through another door that lead to the exit of the ship.

"Yeah, see you later, Setsuna." Ray said softly after briefly opening his eyes before trying to get some sleep.

((What's taking him so long?)) Maaya thought to herself as she tried hard not to wrinkle her nose in disgust at the nauseating stench of alcohol, smoke, and vomit that permeated within the rundown bar.

She also ignored the perverted whispers and leering stares that some of the customers were directing at her. ((Next time, I'm picking the place where we'll meet. I've had enough of male egos to last three lifetimes.))

The young woman was slightly at fault for her unwanted attention having worn a short black spaghetti strap dress that ended above her knees with slits on the sides showing her silky smooth legs.

"Well at least none of them have the balls to come up to me and say a crappy pick up line." Maaya muttered to herself softly.

It was true since despite the vision of beauty among amongst them, none of the bar goers had dared to go to the woman with long silver hair due to the 5 foot katana lying on the table in front of her and the ice cold glares she sent to anyone who even thought about it.

She was slowly nursing her drink since it was her third one already and didn't want to be too relaxed when her informant came, plus I'd take far more drinks of hard liquor to down the swordswoman.

After finishing her drink, Maaya looked at her watch and noticed that the man she was supposed to meet was over an hour late. She was about to get up and leave when the door of the bar slowly opened and her informant walked in.

((Well speak of the Devil.)) Maaya thought sarcastically as the man, who was wearing a very wrinkled business suit, saw his client and took his time walking to her table.

"You're late." Maaya said simply as the man took a seat and sat right in front of her across the table.

"Hello to you too." the man said flashing her one of his smiles

Maaya immediately frowned at the man and growled softly, "Cut the crap. I'm not one those girls who'd spread their legs when they see you smile."

The man shrugged and grinned, "Hey it was worth a shot." He saw her hand on the hilt of her katana slowly drawing it out and quickly put up both his hands, "Straight to the point as always."

"I don't know why I put up with you." Maaya said growling

"Because I'm your best informant." the man answered with another grin

"You're my only informant." corrected Maaya

"That too." the man added

"What do you have for me?" Maaya asked her informant

She saw his face turn serious and he elaborated with a business like voice, "There's going to be a black market weapons deal going down in a couple of days. One of the bosses of the 108 Dragons is holding a huge party at his house on the outskirts of the city as a cover for the deal." the man paused to grab a bottle of beer from a passing waiter and took a drink before continuing, "That boss keeps all his important data like bank accounts in a computer within his private room in his mansion where the party and the deal is going to happen. I got both of you and Ray an invitation to go to the party and I believe you can use the weapons deal as a smokescreen and steal all that data right under his nose."

The informant finished and looked at his client's face to gauge a reaction. He wasn't very surprised upon seeing a neutral look as he was used to seeing it.

"Its very risky, but I can't let this opportunity pass me by." Maaya said as she stood up from her table and headed for the exit. She stopped right next to her informant and said, "If this goes as planned, you get double the usual payment."

"Pleasure doing business with you Maaya-san." the informant said happily, "Maybe we could go out on a real date next time?"

"In your dreams, Kaji." was the ice cold reply from the swordswoman

"Oh well it was worth a shot." Kaji said to himself shrugging as he watched Maaya pass by a table only to stop when one of the drunken men groped her ass.

"Heeysh….cuutiieee…….hows ab-bout yous an' meeees….g-g-get…a lil' freaky….." slurred the drunken man before he flew back onto the table breaking it on impact

"Don't ever touch me like that." Maaya said to the downed man in a very cold voice as she lowered her fist.

"You-You bitch!" shouted one of the man's friends at Maaya before drawing his gun, a moment later he was on his knees screaming in pain with a smoking hole in the middle of his hand.

The remaining five drunken men also drew their guns after seeing what had happened to their two friends and pointed them at Maaya only to suffer the same fate moments later.

Seeing that no one else was making a move, Maaya put down her custom revolver (AN: think Vash's gun from Trigun) and ejected the empty shells before putting new rounds in with a speed loader. She approached the bartender and handed him a wad of cash for any damages that were made and walked out of the now silent bar, her lithe feminine form swallowed by the darkness of the night.

Kaji, who had been watching the entire fight, if you could call it a fight, merely raised an eyebrow and ordered another glass of beer from the waiter who had hisjaw dropping at the incredible speed with which the swordswoman used against the drunken men.

"They never learn."

"……and I dedicate this park to the many children suffering from that terrible disease……"

Ray droned out what his target was talking and focused his high power binoculars to scout out the park where this groundbreaking was taking place. His gaze swept all over the place taking into account the positions of the guards and possible escape routes once he had finished the job.

"Only twenty guards around him and his family." Ray said out loud to himself as he gazed down at his target on top of a nearby rooftop, his black cyber suit making a little noise as he put down the binoculars and readied himself to carry out the assassination.

His target was a wealthy business man and politician named Akira Yamaguchi. The media portrayed Akira like a saint when he gave some of his money away to the needy and poor. But what the rest of the people didn't know was that Akira had his dirty hands in on illegal activities like gambling, drug-trafficking, and prostitution.

He received a private message from an unidentified person in the government asking for his services in taking out Akira. Within the message was an account number that held 5,000,000 Fol and he would receive another five million when the job was completed. That was all that it took for him to accept this mission.

Ray noticed that his target was finishing his speech and grabbed a remote detonator. He had planted some explosives within the park before the opening ceremony secretly disguised as a maintenance worker.

"Showtime." said Ray as he flipped open the cap of the detonator and pressed the blinking red button.

KABOOM!!!!!!!!

Five simultaneous explosions rocked the park as screams from bystanders, reporters, and bodyguards erupted. Ray quickly jumped five stories down from the roof top, not even pausing when he landed, and quickly dashed towards Akira as he readied his assault rifle.

Some of the bodyguards that weren't killed or injured by the blast rose up quickly and started to open fire at Ray who merely dodged the bullets swiftly and began firing his own deadly volley at the bodyguards. He saw his target trying to flee and tried to cut him off as soon as he killed the remaining bodyguards.

Akira fell back on his ass as he saw the assassin appear in front of him with his rifle pointed at him, he slowly moved backwards as Ray aimed his rifle at his head.

"Please spare me! I-I have a family!!!!" Akira said as he begged for his life

"Tell it to someone that gives a damn!" said Ray as he put his finger on the trigger, he then noticed Akira's eyes slightly moving to his right and immediately dropped his rifle before quickly emptying his remaining clip into Akira before crouching and swerving around to face whoever tried to sneak up behind him. Ray drew a handgun and pointed it at his attacker, thinking it was another bodyguard, before pulling the trigger. The bullet went into the woman's body and out on the other side.

It was then when time seemed to slow down for Ray when he looked at the woman's face, his eyes widening in shock and horror when he recognized her short blond hair and blue eyes. Then time went to normal and the woman fell on the ground with a pool of blood slowly forming underneath her dying body. His gun fell from trembling fingers and ran towards the fallen woman.

"NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" shouted Ray bolting straight up from the couch he was sleeping on. His face drenched with cold sweat at the very vivid nightmare.

((Why is this happening now?)) Ray thought to himself as he put his face into his hands, trying to calm his frayed nerves, ((They were never this intense even after she…))

"Are you alright?" a soft voice inquired startling him out of his thoughts. Ray looked up and saw Maaya looking at him with a neutral expression on her face, though he could tell that she was clearly disturbed by his actions.

"I'm ok." Ray said simply

"Are you sure?" Maaya asked pressing for answers

"I just had a bad nightmare." said Ray refusing to elaborate any further.

"Whatever." Maaya said as she headed to her room to change and then off to the kitchen to make supper for her and Ray. As she passed by the low table, Maaya saw the flashing screen of Ray's laptop.

"Might want to check that out." she said pointing to the screen and went out the living room.

"Huh?" said Ray as he looked at his laptop and saw a notice that he had received a message. Sitting up on the couch, Ray opened the message and read its contents.

_I have another job for you. Meet me near the docks in half an hour._

_K.K._

The message was short and to the point, much like the man he had come to know, always taking about revolutionizing this planet's corrupt government, when that happened Ray wanted to be as far away from the planet as he could. No use getting caught up in a coup that would cause more people to die.

Ray took out a small pendant hidden underneath his shirt and gazed sadly at it for a moment.

"Forgive me."

Against the crisp night air in the shadow of the night sky, Ray looked up at the stars shining brightly as he listened at the sound of metal hitting against metal as the general and his son were sparring.

((More like a one-sided match.)) Ray thought to himself snorting as he watched the match for ten minutes before getting bored by the lack of skill the little boy showed.

"Come at me again!" he heard the general berating his son before said boy gave a loud shout and rushed at his father only to have his sword batted away and him receiving getting slapped to the ground.

"You're such a weak little boy." his father spat as he took a hand towel from an old butler who was watching the fight and left the fallen child on the ground.

Ray stopped staring at the sky and looked down at the child and his guardian, feeling a little sorry for the father's treatment of the boy. But by morning's dawn the boy wouldn't need to worry about his father. He would be dead by then.

Gendo Ikari was the name of his target, a brilliant scientist, tactician, and one of the top brass in the military. Ray's employer wanted him dead due to a failed assassination attempt on himself a few months ago. His employer suspected it was Gendo's doing since he was opposed against using prisoners as guinea pigs for Gendo's own twisted little eugenics program.

Ray watched as the old man helped the boy up from the ground and lead him inside the mansion. He swiftly made his way towards his target's private room as quietly as possible; his employer had provided him with a map of the general's house so Ray could quickly eliminate him.

It took him a couple of minutes before he found the place and he silently stood on a small ledge by the window sill leading into his target's room. He was about to go in when he sensed another person going inside the room, so he stopped and listened in.

"Is it wise to be so hard on the young master?" the old butler asked his master.

"It is necessary for him, when I grow old and die, he must take up the mantle of our family and I cannot allow him to be so weak in front of others." Gendo replied

"But he is still young." the old man pleaded

"Which is better for him to learn at a young age than later in life, I've heard enough of your concerns, see to his wounds and make sure he is prepared for tomorrow's lesson." ordered Gendo as he watched the old butler take his leave.

Hearing the door close, Ray slowly counted to sixty and suddenly all power was cut off from the mansion.

"What the hell?" Gendo asked out loud when the lights suddenly flickered and went dead, then he heard the window opening and he could make out an outline of a figure drawing out a sword.

((Assassin!)) Gendo's mind shouted at him and the man whirled around to find his sword to defend himself.

Unfortunately, he tripped on a chair while stumbling in the dark room; he only had time to turn around to see a flash of metal in the darkness, a burst of agony in his chest, and death swiftly taking him away.

Ray looked down at the dead body of Gendo and took out the sword that impaled him to the floor. He wasn't a master of swords like Maaya was but he was good enough to hold his own.

Suddenly, Ray sensed a movement in the darkness and he turned to see that the door to Gendo's room was slightly open. Cursing to himself, Ray ran to the door and stabbed straight through the opening. He felt his blade piercing through flesh but he didn't stop until the sword hit the wall across the door. His eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness and they widened in horror at who he had killed.

"W…w-why………." the dying child asked Ray as his blood pooled around his body slumped against the wall and out of his mouth.

((NO! Not again!)) Ray's mind shouted in anguish as his eyes locked with the child's eyes which were watering with tears. He noticed that the boy's body slowly became still.

"I'm sorry……." Ray whispered as he slid the blade out of the dead boy's body and closed kid's teary lifeless eyes with his right hand.

((The child was innocent.)) He thought to himself, pain and sorrow gripping his heart at what he had done.

He broke out of his self-recriminating thoughts when he heard footsteps coming his way. Sheathing his sword, Ray ran back into the room and jumped out of the window. The brown haired assassin ran as fast as he could to get outside of the mansion grounds to where he had hidden Maaya's motoslave near the estate.

As he cleared the gate with a huge leap, Ray heard a loud sound coming from the mansion and felt another stab at his heart. He reached the motoslave's hiding spot, turned it on and gunned it out of there. (1)

_An hour later………_

Maaya sat on the couch, slowly drinking a hot cup of tea, watching some show on the plasma screen when it was interrupted by an urgent new flash. She saw a female reporter outside the gates of the mansion where Ray was and saw numerous police forces coming in and out of the estate.

"This is Trish Suzuhara reporting in front of the Ikari estate where less than hour a double homicide occurred. Police are still combing the crime scene for any clues on the perpetrators of this heinous act." said the reporter and she turned her micro phone to the man standing next to her and asked, "Inspector Yamagata, who do you think are responsible for killing Mr. Ikari and his son?"

"I believe that this was a hit by one of the crime syndicates rampant here in our planet." answered the inspector

"What were the causes of their deaths?" the reporter asked the inspector again

"Our forensic specialist believes that the assassin or assassins used a type of sword to kill both victims. We will have an official police report tomorrow morning to disclose any information that we find." said the inspector as he moved away from the camera

"Thank you for your time, Inspector. This is Trish Suzuha……."

Maaya turned the plasma screen off and sat silently drinking her cooling tea as she waited for Ray to return. Minutes later, she heard a door opening and saw Ray slowly walking in, his face pale and looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"Ray, what happened? I saw that news and……….." Maaya trailed off when she saw him glaring venomously at her.

"Just leave me the hell alone." Ray said with self-loathing lacing his voice as he staggered like a drunken man into his living quarters.

Ray spent an hour showering unable to get rid of the boy's dead eyes staring at him. So he just stared as the blood mixed freely with the water turning it pink and down into the drain. When he finally came out the shower, he took out a bottle of hard liquor from his mini fridge and sat on a chair near his bed and poured himself a shot.

His throat burned as he downed the glass but he paid it no mind having been used to the burning sensation. His door opened as he was pouring himself another shot and Ray saw Maaya staring at him.

"What the hell do you want?" Ray asked

"It wasn't your fault." Maaya said simply, she paid no mind when the liquor bottle shattered on the wall next to her face.

"Get out." Ray said angrily

Maaya chose to comply this time and turned to leave but before saying, "You better get yourself together because we got a job in five days." then the door closed, leaving Ray alone in his room once more.

"Go to hell." was Ray's answer.

Ray took out his pendant again and opened it revealing a very beautiful woman with short blond hair and blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry." said Ray as he shed a few tears as he gazed upon the pendant.

He had broken the promise he made on her grave and killed an innocent child.

(1) – For all you BERSERK fans out there! Poor poor Shinji.....


	2. Prologue II: Beautiful Killer

Disclaimer: Neither Mid-Boss nor I own Ranma ½ which belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-san or Star Ocean: Till the End of Time or any other anime that may appear in our story.

"Dialogue"

((Thoughts))

Original characters Ray Yagami belongs to Mid-Boss and Maaya Yamamoto belongs to me, arekuruu-inabikari-no-she

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Loud footsteps echoed in the silent alley as a man ran down its darkened path. In his hands the fleeing man held a gun and a small 'package'. His eyes darted left and right trying to peer into the eternal darkness for his pursuer, yet the only sounds he could hear were his hard breathing and his heart beating frantically against his chest, pausing momentarily to catch his breath.

Fear and terror filled his very soul as he remembered what had happened only a few scant minutes earlier as he and his friends were in a routine 'package' delivery only to find their client and his guards dead, their blood all over the walls and the floor, with their killer waiting for them. Oh how he remembered Jiro opening fire on the woman, no the demon, only to have him explode in a cloud of blood and gore as she appeared behind him.

But he ran even as his friends died as they were cut down by the woman with her five foot sword, taking the coward's way out, ignoring their pleas for help. Apparently the man caught his second wind and was preparing to run again when a female voice called out to him seemingly from everywhere and nowhere around him at the same time.

"If you give me the package, your death will be swift and you shall have the peace of grave."

"N-no please!" the man begged, "I'll give you the package b-but please…….please spare my life!"

"No." the voice answered

The man screamed in terror and fired his gun into the darkness surrounding him. In his crazed state of mind, the man never noticed the near invisible monofilament wire slowly wrapping around his neck like a hangman's noose.

With a hard tug the man was suddenly lifted a few feet off the ground being choked by the wire around his neck. The man's feet were kicking wildly, his gun and package lay forgotten beneath his struggling form, as both of his hands tried to free him from certain death. Less than a minute later his struggling ceased as death took his life away and his face rapidly turning into a shade of bluish purple.

Maaya came of the darkness and slowly approached the dead man's hanging body and kneeled down to pick up her 'package'. She briefly glared at the dead man and uttered.

"I refuse to sully my blade with the blood of a coward, Ataru Moroboshi."

Then she vanished once again into the night.

_Prologue Two:_

_ Beautiful Killer_

To kill......

That is this woman's way of life......

To kill......

That is the only means in which she can survive......

Her name is Maaya......

There are none who know of her shrouded past......

There are none who ask about her past......

Through killing she finds her existence......

She weeps as she watches the winds and feels the currents of the universe upon her very soul......

This is the kind of woman Maaya is......

All women are special yet she is very unique......

All women possess many faces......

Yet, no man has ever seen the faces of Maaya…...

All that men can see is the shining sword she holds in her hands......

Even if these men, who see her gleaming blade, were to receive a brief smile......

They would never see it or know of it while they were still alive......

This woman's name is Maaya......

To kill......

This is her way of life...... (1)

The world around was just a blur to Maaya as she practiced with her bo staff on the deck of the Ragnarok twirling it around her like a baton. To the untrained eye it would seem as if she was dancing with a staff but in truth her kata emphasized on both crippling and lethal blows to the body.

It was still early morning and the planet's twin suns had still to rise and Maaya needed to pass the time before her meeting with another client later in the morning for another job, an assassination on a crime syndicate boss. Thinking about it made the swordswoman frown. The assassination would take on the same day on she would steal the disk for Kaji.

She was about to refuse, but stopped when she looked over the mission specifics and who the target would be. It was the same man who owned those files that they were going to steal from during the party. But what irked her the most was where he wanted to meet her.

Maaya's client had arranged for the meeting to be in the Sakura Tea House which was located in the middle of the seediest part of the city. The tea house was nothing more than a front for a very popular whore house and where most of the scum of this planet met.

Maaya wasn't very pleased but she reluctantly complied because the man told her that she could name her price and she could go as high as seven or eight digits when they met at the tea house. What also bothered her was that her client had only left two initials to identify him by and it was 'K.K.' But she put it out of her mind and went into another kata.

By the time dawn came Maaya was sweating after a hard early morning workout, she quickly retreated inside the ship since she didn't want anyone to see her wearing only short shorts and her chest bindings. For such a small planet there were a lot of perverts in it.

As she made her way down to her private quarters, Maaya had thought about asking Ray if he knew who this K.K. was but shoved that thought out her head as the guy was still in a depressed mood after what he had done three days ago. Though he was starting to come out of his funk, she respected him enough to give him space to grieve.

Stepping into her quarters, Maaya immediately removed her chest bindings and headed to the bathroom while she removed the last pieces of her clothing. Maaya stood naked as the warm water cascaded down her lithe body, relaxing the little cramps in her muscles.

Nearly half and hour later, the swordswoman finally came out the bathroom feeling refreshed, her body wrapped with a towel. Suddenly the video phone near her bed turned on and Maaya whirled around to glare at an ogling Kaji.

"You shouldn't have dressed up for me." Kaji said grinning

"I would call you a pervert but you already know that." said Maaya who was still glaring at Kaji and making sure her towel wasn't slipping as she sat on her bed.

"Is it a crime to look at a beautiful woman?" asked Kaji who was still grinning

Maaya just scoffed at his words and grabbed a small towel on her bed and proceeded to dry her hair,

"So did you find anything on my mysterious client before I go and meet him?"

"It took some digging but I finally found his identity." Kaji replied

"So, who is it?" asked Maaya as she finished drying her hair

"Katsura Kogoro." Kaji said simply

((I should've known.)) Maaya thought to herself as she cursed mentally.

"Are you okay with this?" Kaji asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, it's fine with me." Maaya said as she stood up and approached the video phone, "Thanks for the help, Kaji."

"Always happy to oblige a gorgeous lady such as yourself." said Kaji

"Flattery will get nowhere in life." said Maaya as he closed the video phone

After a couple of minutes later, Maaya stepped out of her room dressed with black cargo pants with matching shirt and short jacket that showed her washboard stomach. She passed by the living room and was inwardly pleased to see Ray sitting on the couch, eating some bacon and eggs with slices of bread.

"Going somewhere?" Ray asked before munching down a piece of bacon

"Yeah, I'm off to see a client." Maaya answered

"So soon, we haven't even done that job you told me about couple of day's ago?" said Ray with confusion showing on his face.

"A different client for the same job." said Maaya trying her best to explain the situation. She was very glad, though she didn't show it, that Ray was finally getting over what he had done and the healing could finally begin.

"You lost me." was the intelligent response

Maaya just sighed and said, "Look, I'll explain later okay?"

"Sure." said Ray before attacking his food once again. Maaya just nodded and left the living room, heading straight for the hanger where her motoslave was parked.

Minutes later, Ray heard a loud roar of engines before hearing tires tearing out of the hanger only to fade away in the distance moments later. He just shrugged and continued eating.

Maaya parked her motoslave in a dark, little side street. She had no fear that someone would try to steal her motoslave, any would be thieves would get a 'pleasant' surprise if they tried.

She looked around for a moment at headed straight on a building that stood on the corner of the street. Her eyes squinting at the sign above the door: Sakura Tea House.

Maaya gave a resigned sigh before steeling herself as she opened the door and parted the entry curtain.

As soon as she entered into the wooden building, a huge wave of cigarette smoke and loud boisterous noises assaulted her senses. Maaya shook her head slightly at the nauseous atmosphere before pushing forward.

Her eyes adjusting to the dim, hazy lighting of the tea house and she began to make out figures. The crowded club was brimming with men of all sorts. Crawling around these men or sometimes on top of them, were barely clothed or nude women. Maaya's nose wrinkled in absolute disgust.

"What do we have here?!" a loud drunken voice called out, "One fine woman!"

"Would you look at that!" another voice hooted, "Fresh meat!!!!"

Maaya paid no attention to any of the drunken idiots when a massive form blocked her path,

"Nice sword ya got there." the drunk man said, his face dangerously close to Maaya's face. The swordswoman fought hard not to flinch at the rancid breath that came from the man's mouth.

"Wanna see mine?" the man asked with poor disguised innuendo.

He never noticed her right hand slowly inching towards the hilt of her katana. The drunk then moved one of his massive arms to grab one of Maaya's arms. Fortunately (for the drunk), a cold voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Kai what the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing, Takuya, just talking to this woman is all." said Kai as he sobered up slightly.

"She doesn't have time for you or your games, Kai. That woman has an appointment with the boss." Takuya said glaring at Kai as the man paled.

The big man and the crowd quickly parted before the woman, easily creating a path for her that lead to a stairway.

"Follow me if you would please." Takuya said as he led Maaya up the stairs.

Kai sighed in relief at evading unnecessary trouble and he freaked when a throwing knife flew by, mere inches away from his face, imbedding itself halfway into the wall behind him. He looked at the Maaya who was following Takuya and she turned he head sideways to give him a silent glare that sent shivers down his spine. He vowed not to cross paths with the woman again.

"My sincere apologies about their rowdy behavior downstairs, Yamamoto-san., they will be harshly reprimanded for that." Takuya said as they neared the room where his boss was.

"... ... ..." Maaya didn't answer but was instead immersed on her own thoughts.

"He is waiting for you inside." Takuya's voice snapped Maaya out of her musings as he opened the shoji screen and gestured for her to enter.

Maaya took off her shoes before entering and saw a handsome middle-aged man with black hair tainted with flecks of gray sitting cross-legged on a low table. The man looked at Takuya who nodded in response as he closed the screen and left the two alone. Maaya kneeled across the table and waited patiently for the man to begin.

"I am Katsura Kogoro." he introduced himself, "Leader of the Choshu faction."

Katsura looked at Maaya to see any reaction from the kneeling woman but saw none.

"I lead those men you saw downstairs," he said, "I direct every move they make and answer to no one but me."

Again, Katsura looked at the silent swordswoman for any reaction. Suddenly, her blue eyes locked gazes with him and he could see a flicker of recognition within those sapphire orbs.

"Katsura Kogoro." she stated, "I have seen and known your work as a politician yet you lead an organization wanted by the government that you work for."

Katsura just smiled at her

"How very true." he said "You know my reputation well, Ms. Yamamoto. But my actions are purely for the good of the people of Amuro."

"By using killers and murderers to clean the streets?" asked Maaya sarcastically

"Yes." Kagura answered without any hesitation

"So to fight against the evils of the underworld, you use their own methods against them?" asked Maaya, though it seemed that she was stating it as a fact rather than a question.

"What you say is true. However, we aren't here today to talk about me are we?" Kagura asked with a small smile

Maaya nodded not caring about the change of subject.

"Why did you ask me?" asked Maaya simply

"I beg your pardon?" Kagura said a little confused about her question

"Why did you need an assassin of the cross to do a simple assassination?" Maaya elaborated

"Because I want to turn that party into a massacre, show them no mercy, and make it seem like it was the work of a rival crime syndicate. That's why I needed your expertise." Kagura answered

"I see." she said contemplating for a moment, "Nine million Fol upfront, that's my asking price." If Kagura was shocked he certainly didn't show it.

"How can I be assured..." asked Kagura before trailing off as he saw her cold glare directed at him, "...forgive me for my doubts. It seems that I had forgotten that an assassin of the cross always kills their targets."

"What will you achieve from this?" Maaya asked

"The means to revolutionize this world." was his answer

The swordswoman just nodded as she stood up and headed for the door.

"One of my men will leave the money in front of your ship tomorrow early morning." Kagura said to Maaya before she left.

"And you will have your massacre."

_Two days later..._

The stars were shining brightly in the night sky as Ray and Maaya drove towards Kanryu's estate a few miles out of the city limits in their sports car.

Ray was dressed with a regular black tuxedo with tails and Maaya wore a dark blue spaghetti strap dress that had two high slits on the side. Her hair had been tied in a high ponytail showing off her bare back. The trip was very silent but as they neared the estate Ray glanced at Maaya while he was driving and asked,

"So how's it going down?"

"We go in and enjoy ourselves until you see Kanryu start making the deals. Then I'll sneak out and create a diversion while you use that time to go to his private room to steal the disk." Maaya paused briefly to let the information sink in before continuing, "Once you have them, get the car and leave without me. I'll rendezvous with you at the space port."

Maaya didn't want Ray to find out about what she was going to do and hoped that they would be off Amuro by then.

"Are you sure that you want me to leave?" asked Ray, "You might need some help escaping."

"I'll be fine." said Maaya, "I've got my motoslave on autopilot and following us."

Ray looked at the car's rear view mirror and saw that Maaya's motoslave was following them although at a distance.

A few minutes later, their car stopped at the gates leading into the crime boss's huge estate and Maaya directed her motoslave to hide amongst the trees near the gates. As soon as the wide gates opened, Ray drove the car inside and parked it where the valet showed them.

"Shall we go milady?" Ray asked Maaya with a grin as he opened the door for her.

Maaya said nothing and both walked to the entrance where four armed guards were looking at the invitations for the party goers. Both had noticed that some had just given the guards a wad of cash to be let in. She particularly resisted the urge to kill one of the guards when he made a crude remark to another guard when they showed their invitations and were let in.

Takeda Kanryu was stinking rich and the crime boss made every effort to flaunt his wealth to his associates who attended the party. Decorations that screamed 'rich', food so exotic that they it had to be imported a month before the party, and even the serving girls were either dressed in various lingerie or costumes.

"A guy could get used to this." said Ray as he grabbed to glasses of champagne from a ditzy blonde in a bunny outfit who almost tripped on her feet, "Weird hairstyle though, looks like meatballs." he just shrugged and proceeded to ogle the various girls in different lingerie

Maaya just sighed at her partner's perverted nature, "Just don't forget."

"I won't forget, but it seems that these girls got some competition." he said smirking at Maaya who just looked away with a very faint flush of pink on her face.

Both just made their way to the bar to order some drinks and keep a lookout for Kanryu. About an hour and a half of waiting, Maaya's target came down the grand stairs with escort in tow. The crime boss looked at the crowd of people and headed towards another man who was seated in one of the couches with a girl on both arms.

"Target spotted." Ray said softly to Maaya who gave him a slight nod. She was about to go to the ladies room to sneak out when the lights slowly dimmed and a spotlight turned on, focusing on a man with a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we hope that you are enjoying the party this evening but we have a very special guest for Mr. Kanryu and you all." the man announced and waited for a moment, "She has taken time off her busy schedule to give a small performance for our celebrant. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the star of the music world, Ms. Lacus Clyne!!!"

The spotlight turned away from the man and focused and became even brighter as it revealed a beautiful young woman with long pink hair with green eyes shining like emeralds. She was wearing a simple but very elegant light blue gown.

"They don't pull any punches do they?" asked Ray out loud as Lacus took a deep breath as music came from behind her and she began to sing,

_Nani mo ka mo umaku yukanai modokashisa ni_

_Aseru kimochi wo osaete_

_Hagayusa to iradatashisa ni kokoro midare_

_Kakaekonda hiza kozou_

_(Nothing is going the way it should_

_I hastily subdue these feelings of impatience_

_All this anxiety and nervousness is sending my heart into disorder_

_Just a boy hugging his knees in the midst of it all)_

_Kuyashisa wo koraete namida ni furuete_

_Naita yoru ga akeru_

_(Shivering and in tears, I repress all my regret_

_I cried all night, but now it seems dawn is breaking...)_

Even though the young woman had just started singing both Ray and Maaya could tell that everyone was entranced by her music. Ray listened slowly. He imagined that the singer had short blond hair and blue eyes instead.

"I miss you…….." he said with a low voice and lost himself reminiscing about the past as he listened to Lacus.

_Sou _

_Tashika ni kimi no iu toori da yo_

_Ima nara hikikaeseru keredomo_

_Tsumaranai iji wo haritsuduketeru_

_Arukihajimeta ijou akiramenai_

_(So, undoubtedly you're right_

_Even though right now I may try to turn back_

_And I keep on being stubborn about it, though I know it's monotonous_

_I'll start walking again, this time even farther, and I won't give up)_

_Mou ichido kono te ni chansu wo..._

_(If I could get just one more chance...)_

_Subete kono mune no naka ni shimatte okou_

_Yume ga kanau made..._

_(I'll keep it all locked away in my heart_

_Until my dreams come true...)_

_Yarusenai hakanasa ni mi wo yudaneru hodo_

_Sonna ayaui jidai ni_

_Agaitemo te no todokanai kishi wo mezashi_

_Muga muchuu de oyoida_

_(I surrendered myself to a dismal emptiness _

_in the most critical of times_

_No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite reach_

_Aiming for the shore_

_I had to swim for my life)_

_Nagare ni sakarau koe mo agerarenai_

_Yukitomari no basho de_

_(Withstanding the current, I can't even raise my voice_

_It could have been the end right there, but...)_

_Sou_

_Ai ga subete tasukeru to wa_

_Omowanai dakedo kimi no hohoemi_

_Kokoro wo iyasu sono kuchibiru ni_

_Tachiagaru yuuki wo morau no sa_

_(I don't think that love can save everything,_

_but there's something about your smile_

_that somehow healed my heart, and in your lips_

_I found the strength to stand up again)_

Maaya then noticed that Kanryu and the man were making their way to a more private room slowly as to not attract any attention to themselves. She was going to tell Ray that she was leaving and to get ready but stopped when she noticed the far away look in his eyes and he looked rather melancholic.

The swordswoman just shook her head and made her way through the crowd to go to the ladies room. Once she was inside, Maaya quickly checked if anyone else was inside. Finding the room empty besides her, she quickly made her way to a window and forced it open.

_Mou ichido kono te ni chansu wo..._

_(If only I could get just one more chance...)_

_Kawa no nagare wa kyou mo hageshii keredo_

_Kimi no te wa hanasanai_

_Itsumo kono mune no naka no ai wo shinjiteiyou_

_Yume ga kanau made..._

_(The flow of the river is intense even today_

_But I won't let go of your hand_

_I'll believe in the love that's in my heart forever_

_Until my dreams come true...)_

Taking a quick peek and seeing no patrolling guards, Maaya climbed out of the ladies room and shut the window behind her. She sensed someone coming and immediately hid in some bushes nearby.

Less than a minute later, a pair of guards strolled by talking to each other. Maaya waited for another minute before sprinting towards the large gates. Avoiding some more patrols and as soon as Maaya neared the gates she leapt high and landed on top of the wall. She ran towards the spot where her motoslave had hidden itself.

_Sou_

_Ai ga subete wo tasukeru to wa_

_Omowanai dakedo kimi no hohoemi_

_Kokoro wo iyasu sono kuchibiru ni_

_Tachiagaru yuuki wo morau no sa_

_(I don't think that love can save everything,_

_but there's something about your smile_

_that somehow healed my heart, and in your lips_

_I found the strength to stand up again)_

_Tashika ni kimi no iu toori da yo_

_Ima nara hikikaeseru keredomo_

_Tsumaranai iji wo haritsuduketeru_

_Arukihajimeta ijou akiramenai_

_(So, undoubtedly you're right_

_Even though right now I may try to turn back_

_And I keep on being stubborn about it, though I know it's monotonous_

_I'll start walking again, this time even farther, and this time I won't give up)_

Maaya quickly leapt down and hid herself within the trees as she began to take her clothes off. She opened a compartment on the motoslave and pulled out her hard suit. A minute later, Maaya sat on her motoslave and patiently waited.

_Mou ichido kono te ni chansu wo..._

_(If only I could get just one more chance...)_

_Kawa no nagare wa kyou mo hageshii keredo_

_Kimi no te wa hanasanai_

_Itsumo kono mune no naka no ai wo shinjiteiyou_

_Yume ga kanau made..._

_(The flow of the river is intense even today_

_But I won't let go of your hand_

_I'll believe in the love that's in my heart forever_

_Until my dreams come true...) _(2)

There was a great shout of applause for the singer as she finished her song. Taking a long bow, the young woman smiled at the crowd and walked slowly out of the spotlight as the light slowly went back on.

Ray was about to say something to Maaya when he noticed that she was gone. He cursed softly and headed towards the men's room. Ray waited until he was alone in the room and tapped the mini communicator in his right ear.

"Are you there, Maaya? If you are please answer me." he said quietly

"I'm here." said Maaya over the comlink

"Where the hell are you?!" asked Ray

"I'm ready and waiting."

"Ms. Clyne just finished and I don't know where Kanryu went to." said Ray

"Don't worry, I know where he is. Just be ready to move when I give the signal." said Maaya

Ray could hear the roar of the motoslave's engine coming to life

"How will I know what the signal is?" he asked dreading the answer

"You'll know." was the only thing Maaya said before turning off her communicator.

Ray stood silent for a moment before walking out of the men's room and towards the stairs. As he got to the stairs Ray heard a huge explosion going off before seeing a huge shadow crash through one of the mansion's huge windows.

All hell broke loose afterwards and Ray separated himself from the fleeing horde of people as a hail of gunfire tore through them dropping them like flies. He ignored the shouts and screams and ran up the stairs, towards one of the hallways that led to Kanryu room.

_Earlier………_

"How will I know what the signal is?" asked Ray

"You'll know." Maaya answered as she cut the link between them and activated the hard suit.

She instantly felt her suit growing and hardening until it finished its transformation. The swordswoman adjusted her body to the added weight that the suit was putting on before riding out of her hiding spot and towards the gate.

Approaching the gates, she could see a couple guards waving their weapons at her, ignoring their orders to stop Maaya aimed the motoslave's AA Cannon at the main gate and fired.

BOOM!!!!!!

The gate and its guards were incinerated caused by the cannon's HEAT (high explosive anti tank) rounds. Maaya just drove through the remains of the main gate and increased her speed. Nearing the mansion, she made the motoslave 'jump' and crashed through one of its windows.

"Motoslave, heavy arms mode." she ordered as her motoslave suddenly transformed in mid-air conforming itself around her hard suit with its AA Cannon attaching itself to her right arm becoming a double barreled gatling gun.

Marbled tiles cracked under the heavy weight of the transformed motoslave and Maaya used the shock that everyone was momentarily under and unleashed a wave of AP rounds. She continued to fire not sparing anyone within the deadly range of her firearm. Maaya paused momentarily to scan her surroundings for Ray and was glad that he had already left to get the disk.

Knowing her task to be almost over, she moved towards the room where she saw Kanryu go in and scanned the room. The scan revealed at least 20 people armed and waiting for her to burst through the door, Maaya just aimed at a target closest to the wall in front of her and opened fire.

She destroyed the weakened wall with a punch of her motoslave and stepped inside. Maaya could feel the little sounds of bullets bouncing of her motoslave's armor grabbed one of the bodyguards and snapped him like a twig before swatting three more away with one swing of her gatling gun. She knew that Kanryu might try to run away and jumped backwards spraying the room with deadly projectiles.

After a full minute, Maaya stopped firing and what was left of the room resembled a war zone with blood and dead bodies everywhere. All of them were dead except one who was seriously injured, she approached Kanryu's bullet-riddled corpse and spoke out loud using the motoslave's voice scrambler to mask her true voice.

"Rau Le Creuset sends his regards." she said using the name that Kagura had given her in the mission specifics.

Her job finished, Maaya had her motoslave transform back into a cycle and prepared to leave, her motoslave warned her of police forces en route. Maaya was about to leave when she caught something moving at the corner of her eye. She turned to see the young woman who had given them the glasses of champagne earlier slowly crawling towards something couldn't see.

Without hesitation Maaya grabbed a gun from one of the dead guards and approached the girl. She saw a trail of blood coming from the young woman's stomach and knew that the poor woman was dying. The woman apparently hadn't noticed or ignored Maaya as she stood over her crawling form and emptied the gun over her heart.

Maaya looked at her outstretched hand and saw it millimeters away from a small bloody locket. Picking it up, Maaya opened it and saw a picture of a pink-haired girl. She saw the words 'Love you forever, little sister' inscribed under the girl's picture. Her motoslave gave off a warning that the police were less than five minutes away. Maaya looked at the locket and acted quickly. She was long gone by the time they arrived, leaving only dead bodies in her wake.

_Later that evening……_

Maaya entered the living room of the Ragnarok only to see Ray using his laptop while sitting on the couch

"Hey what took you so long?" asked Ray as he looked up from his laptop

"Had to make sure that no one was following me." said Maaya

Ray nodded and his eyes narrowed when he saw something catching light on her right hand.

"What's that in your hand?" he asked pointedly looking at the object on her hand.

"Just a keepsake." Maaya answered softly and headed straight for her room, "Did you get the disk?"

"Yup, I'm having Melfina decipher the codes now." said Ray

"Good job, Ray." Maaya said to Ray who waved it off, "I'm calling it in for today. Good night."

"Night." said Ray as he went back to his laptop

Maaya went into the bathroom as soon as she stepped into her room and washed the dry blood off the locket. Drying it off with a hand towel, she went back into her bedroom and undressed. Maaya, almost naked, laid on top of her bed before pulling out a hidden knife in one of her pillows and used it to inscribe something within in the locket.

Satisfied with what she had inscribed, Maaya put it around her neck and opened the locket once more.

"Never forget." Maaya said to herself, looking at the pink haired girl in the locket and reading what she had inscribed before closing the locket and falling into a dreamless sleep. (3)

_Few days later…………_

"A surge of deadly shoot-outs between rival gangs has erupted all over the city following the aftermath of the horrific massacre at the Takeda estate. The death toll has risen to over 100 including police officers, civilians, and gang members. The government has finally decided to send in the National Guard to put a stop to these waves of murders….."

Maaya turned off the plasma screen and sighed as she drank her tea. She had decided to forgo practice today and woke up late this morning. Her hair was somewhat frazzled and she was till in her underwear. But she didn't care since she was alone in the ship, since Melfina had told her that Ray had left to some unknown location before she woke up. She was pleased that he was too busy with deciphering the data disk to watch the news. The swordswoman didn't want to hear him 'lecturing' her for killing so many people.

"The means to revolutionize this world." she uttered, repeating what Kagura had told her at the tea house.

((So he plans to use this as an excuse to leave the government vulnerable to an internal attack.)) Maaya thought to herself, ((But was sacrificing all those lives necessary for the betterment of this planet?)) She fingered the locket around her neck for a moment then shook her head in an effort to get rid of painful memories.

Maaya then heard the video phone ringing in her room and got up from the couch to answer it.

It was still ringing incessantly and she quickly turned it on, revealing Kaji's disheveled face.

"Hey Kaji what's the…….."

"No time, Maaya! Get away from Amuro now!" Kaji shouted at her

"Huh, what the hell are you talking about?!" asked Maaya slightly disturbed at the urgency of Kaji's voice.

"Kagura's coup is going to happen in less than two hours!" replied Kaji

"So, how does a coup include our safety?" asked Maaya again

"He plans on killing off most of his lackeys in the Chousu organization and other he plans to put down all other crime syndicates." Kaji explained

"So the bastard's going to double cross us." Maaya snarled

"He's already double crossed you guys, just leave Amuro before it's too late." said Kaji with a pleading expression on his face.

"But how about you? Aren't you going to leave as well?" Maaya asked as she saw his face look at something or someone off screen. "Kaji?"

"I'm sorry, Maaya but it's already too late for me." Kaji said as he gave her a sad smile

Maaya saw the shadow of a man with a gun, before her informant closed their video link with each other.

Kaji closed the link between him and Maaya wished that things were different between them. He remembered that one time where had he asked her to go steady with him and had she said to him,

"No man can accept a woman's love covered in blood and sadness."

But Kaji pushed all his thoughts aside as he turned around and stared down the barrel of his killer's gun.

"You're late." he said smiling at the assassin

BANG!!!

(4)

"Damn it!" Maaya shouted angrily, both her fists hitting slamming down on the metal desktop. Kaji was a good man despite his playboy nature. She would make sure that his sacrifice wasn't in vain.

"Melfina, home in to Ray's signal and make contact! This is a priority one!" Maaya shouted as she ran out of her private quarters and towards the ship's armory to be ready just in case any 'guests' came before Ray did.

"On it!" said Melfina as she directed the ship's scanner to look for Ray

_An hour later……_

Ray walked through the cemetery with a solemn look on his face. He passed by the rows of tombstones without making a sound until he stopped in front of a solitary tombstone. He knelt and placed a bouquet of different flowers on it before saying a quick prayer for the deceased.

"Wherever you are kid, I'm sorry." he said softly before standing up and moving to another tombstone, under a Sakura tree in full bloom.

There he laid a bouquet of white roses and looked at the tombstone silently, then waked away without saying a word.

Walking out of the empty cemetery, Ray got inside his parked sports car and was about leave when the car's communicator turned on,

"Ray, do you hear me?" he heard Maaya's voice asking him over the link

"Crystal." he said

"Are you heading back to the space port?" she asked

He turned on the car and drove away from the cemetery and got on the highway leading towards the space port.

"I'm heading back now." he replied

"Get here back here as soon as you can." she ordered

"Why, what's wrong?" Ray asked as he noticed three cars tailing him, "Tell me when I get there, I got people following me."

"What did you say?! Just get rid of them and get here fast we're leaving Amuro!" Maaya said angrily at him and she cut Ray off before he could ask why, "There's going to be a coup' de ta in less than hour and our client double crossed us!"

"Shit." was the only thing Ray could say to sum up their situation.

Ray turned off the communicator and pulled out a small object from underneath the driver seat and threw it out the window. The object bounced towards the tailing cars before attaching itself to one of the cars. He just smirked and pushed a button on the car's steering wheel.

BOOOOOM!!!!!!!

The car went up in flames as the sticky bomb exploded, and Ray shifted gears and speed up as the two remaining cars opened fire on him, while trying to catch up to his sports car. All three played a deadly game of cat and mouse across the long stretch of highway. When one the remaining two appeared on Ray's right side and opened fire.

Ray quickly pressed the brakes and swerved to the right hard, clipping the tail end of the pursuer's car causing it to spin uncontrollably and blew up when it collided the guard rail at over 150 mph. Ray pulled out another sticky bomb and threw it to the last car as it approaching his spinning car, preparing to ram it.

He could see the driver's shocked face as the bomb landed in top of the car's hood. Ray triggered the bomb and the car light up with a fiery explosion as what was left of it hurdled over Ray's car and landed behind him.

The driver of the sports car just smirked and drove away before the police came. He had less than forty minutes to make it back to the space port.

_Half an hour later………_

As Ray entered the space port he saw signs of a battle and sped up his car to where the Ragnarok was docked. Nearing where their ship was docked he could see an ongoing battle and saw Maaya tearing armed gunmen apart with her sword. The gunmen could only hit her afterimage before getting skewered by her blood-stained blade.

"Melfina, open the hangar, I'm coming in!" Ray ordered to the ship's Core AI

"Roger that, Ray." said Melfina as the ramp leading to the hangar was lowered.

He looked at saw that Maaya had finished off the remaining gunmen and leapt on top of his car as he sped by and drove up the ramps as they closed behind them.

"Are you alright?" Ray asked the swordswoman as he got out the car

"It'll take a lot more than thugs with guns to bring me down." Maaya said, "But right now we don't have too much time left." She then ran out the hangar and to the bridge with Ray in tow.

"Melfina, turn all engines online and prepare for departure." Maaya said to the small female holographic image that greeted them once they arrived at the bridge.

Melfina was silent for a moment before saying, "Main engines powering up, energy levels at 45 percent and rising."

"Attention, crew of the Ragnarok! You have not been given the clearance to launch! Disable all systems and prepare to be……." Maaya turned off the transmission from the space port control tower and sat on the pilot's chair.

"He's probably been paid to keep us here." Ray just nodded at what Maaya said and took a seat on a nearby chair. Melfina showed him a live feed of more armed men storming towards them, "We've got some more company."

"Main engines have reached full power and we are ready for lift off." said Melfina to Maaya

"LAUNCH!!!" Maaya shouted as the thrusters ignited and the Ragnarok slowly rose from the ground before gaining speed. The ships' abrupt lift off caused its connecting support towers to collapse, raining debris on the incoming gunmen, killing them instantly.

Both the ship and its occupant were a little shaken as they escaped the planet's gravity, piercing through the inner and outer atmosphere, and minutes later they were amongst the sea of stars in space.

"We have achieved planetary launch and have escaped its gravity." Melfina informed both Ray and Maaya

Ray just gave a sigh of relief, "At least its over."

"Warning, long-range scanners have detected a dozen pirate-class space fighters." said Melfina

Maaya said nothing but gave a look at Ray that made him take a small gulp.

"Turn the ship around and fire at the targets with the Valiants." said Maaya as the Ragnarok turned around and Ray aimed at the approaching fighters on his screen.

"Targets locked!" Ray said as he acquired the targets in his crosshairs

"Open fire!" Maaya shouted as laser fire erupted from the tips of the Ragnarok's four wings taking out three in one swoop.

Maaya saw that the remaining fighters were still approaching and said, "Melfina, begin energy collection for the Halconnen!"

A large rectangular barrel of a cannon came out from underneath the ships' bridge and energy quickly gathered at the end of the cannon until a large orb of energy was formed.

"Halconnen fully charged." said Melfina

"FIRE!!!" shouted Maaya as a huge beam of energy fired from the cannon destroying the remaining fighters in multiple explosions.

"Melfina, are there any more incoming fighters on the long range scanners?" asked Ray

"Long range scan reveals nothing but space debris." answered Melfina

Maaya nodded and said, "Power down all weapon systems and keep a constant passive scan on all scanners."

"Affirmative." said Melfina as her holographic image vanished to her assigned tasks.

"So, where are we going now?" Ray asked Maaya after a couple minutes of silence of the bridge

"I'm up for a short vacation." Maya said in response

"Vacation?" Ray asked uncertainly

"Melfina use current star maps to plot a course for the planet Char." said Maaya

Seconds later Melfina's voice came through the speakers, "Course set."

"Ready engines for gravitic warp." Maaya said to Ray

"Engines ready for warp." Ray said seconds after fast typing.

"Engage."

In the vacuum of space, the Ragnarok stood still for a moment before vanishing in a bright light from entering gravitic warp space, heading straight for the planet Char. Towards a fated encounter that would lead them to their destinies…

(1)- From the beginning of Outlaw Star Ep.6

(2) – Gundam Seed 2nd ending song "River"

(3) – Think of what's inscribed inside Ed's pocket watch from Full Metal Alchemist

(4) – a rendition of Kaji's death scene from Neon Genesis Evangelion


	3. Prologue III: Beginnings of a Journey

Disclaimer: Neither Mid-Boss nor I own Ranma ½ which belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-san or Star Ocean: Till the End of Time or any other anime that may appear in our story.

"Dialogue"

((Thoughts))

Original characters Ray Yagami belongs to Mid-Boss and Maaya Yamamoto belongs to me, arekuruu-inabikari-no-she

------------------------------------------------------------------------

_ Prologue 3:_

_ The Beginnings of a Journey_

The planet Char...

"Ranma?"

"What is it Kasumi?" asked the boy from his sitting position in the middle of the dojo, he just finished a kata and was now resting

"Ryoga's here." replied the girl, standing at the entrance of the building

"Would you please lead him in?"

"Okay, it'll only take a moment." saying this, she left the dojo

After some minutes the eldest Tendo daughter came back in again, this time with Ryoga, who was blushing because Kasumi had to take his arm to lead him to the training hall.

"I'll see you at dinner." said Kasumi and left the two young men alone

"So Ranma, what did you want to talk about?" asked Ryoga, "Kasumi told me that you almost never leave the dojo since our return from Jusendo and Akane's disappearance which was over half a year ago."

Ranma sighed, "Sit down Ryoga, this could take a while."

The Lost Boy complied and Ranma continued, "Ryoga, you know that as fighters we are about equal with the only difference that I'm faster and you have more strength and endurance."

"You're telling me nothing new there. What's your point?"

"From almost all the strong fighters we met in our time in Nerima we're the weakest…"

"Come on, who could beat us here, Kuno, Mousse or maybe those two crossdressing fools…?"

Ranma interrupted him and said forcefully, "I said 'strong' fighters! I meant Herb and his two idiot servants, Rouge, Taro, Saffron, Ray, MY father, Happosai and Cologne… I think you catch my drift."

Ryoga raised an eyebrow at that, "Ranma, you defeated all of them."

"That was all sheer luck…"

"What about Herb?"

"I was lucky that he lost his concentration when he saw the breasts of my girl-form, otherwise I wouldn't have my head anymore. And Mint and Lime are much stronger and faster than you or me."

"This Ray Kumon guy?"

"I would've lost if I hadn't found the scrolls for the Umisenken accidentally and my final technique in that fight only worked because there were enough people around…"

"Taro?"

"It was always a team effort to defeat him. You know that."

"Rouge?"

"I don't think she can be defeated in her cursed form at all if it wasn't for her back problems…"

"What about Saffron? You killed that guy!"

"It was pure luck that the Gekkaja broke so that it got the ability to freeze things and that Akane fell out of my shirt to create the opening for my final attack… nothing I used against him really worked."

"Your father… you beat him up every morning."

"He may be a stupid panda but he did create the Umisenken and Yamasenken techniques from scratch."

"The two trolls?"

"Luck, by both of them…"

"Man… what's with you and this new way of thinking… I bet you could pull of a Shi Shi Hokodan now…"

"That was also the last technique that we learned…"

"What?" asked Ryoga not understanding what his rival meant

"Shi Shi Hokodan and Moko Takabisha… they are the last new techniques we learned and that was almost a year ago."

"From what I heard, you know this 'Umisenken' school?"

"Ryoga, there's a reason why the Senkens are called 'Forbidden Techniques'. You didn't see me using them against Saffron."

"So, what is your point exactly?" asked Ryoga, "That's not everything you wanted to talk about."

"How about a training trip?" replied Ranma, "And I don't mean one where we come back after a few days… I mean a real training trip where we will train for some years without returning back here."

Ryoga stayed silent for some moments and thought about this, he knew Ranma was right but he didn't know if a training trip was such a good idea, at least for him. Akari was waiting and he knew that he would love to live on her farm. On the other side there was his passion for martial arts and his rivalry with Ranma, it wouldn't do if he would fall behind.

"I'll have to decline... Akari is waiting for me and I think I finally found a place where I can settle down." answered Ryoga with a smile on his face

Ranma stared a moment at the Lost Boy and then shook his head, "You always find a new way to surprise me, P-Chan... Oh well... then I have to go on my own..."

"Do you want to find her?"

"Who are you talki...?" asked Ranma confused and then it clicked in his mind, "Oh... her. No, not really. I bet she had her reasons to disappear like that."

"Come on, you killed for her, she must mean something to you."

"It's pretty weird, Ryoga. A few months ago you would have been right... but somehow everyone lost interest in her, even me. I don't know how or why it happened but with every passing day Akane seems more and more like a ghost that flashed through our lives and then faded away without leaving a trace."

"Careful, you almost sound like Kuno." warned Ryoga

"Sorry 'bout that. I couldn't help it."

"What are you planning to do now that I refused?"

"Well... it may sound weird but I think I'm going to leave Char."

Ryoga was a little shocked by this, "Really?! Isn't that a little extreme?"

"I don't think so, who knows what kind of martial arts styles are out there in the galaxy. I heard the Klausian System is pretty popular for its fighters."

"Still... you don't have the money to get a ride on one of the starships. And I really doubt that Nabiki will loan you that much."

"I never would go to Nabiki for money. Not anymore." replied Ranma with a frown

"Then how do you expect to get of this planet?" then the Eternally Lost Boy noticed the expression on Ranma's face, "You're not going to stowaway on a ship, are you?"

"Wow, since when are you so perceptive? Yeah, you guessed right, I plan to sneak on a ship."

"And you don't think that you can be caught by the sensors that are installed?"

"That's what the Umisenken is for."

Ryoga raised an eyebrow at this, "But I thought you wouldn't use them, since they're 'forbidden'."

"Wrong, I'm not going to use them in a fight. I never said something about using them for their original purpose."

"Which is?"

"Well the Umisenken is also called 'Way of the Silent Thief'. Take a guess what it was made for."

Ryoga sweatdropped and let out a groan, "They were created by your father... I should've guessed something like that..."

"True... I still wonder why he sealed them though, normally he's not this morally challenged."

"Anyway, when are you going to leave?"

"Tonight, if nothing gets in the way."

"Hmm... then this is the last time we're going to see each other." stated Ryoga

"At least for a very long time."

"Spar?"

"Spar." answered Ranma with a cocky grin

_Outer Space several thousand miles away from Char…………_

It was dark inside bridge of the Ragnarok as Ray slept on the Captain's chair with a pillow and a blanket. All of the ship's systems were on standby mode with the exception of its scanners in case of any surprise attacks. But Ray was totally oblivious to everything around as he was immersed in his own dreams.

A young woman with short golden hair slowly rose from her sleep and she sat up making sure that the sheets were covering her naked body. The woman looked around and saw a brown haired young man sitting on a nearby chair and cleaning a couple of handguns. Her face frowned a bit and she said,

"Where you going, Ray? Don't tell me that you're going on another job."

"Yeah." was his simple answer

"So you're going to kill again." she asked him, stating it as a fact rather than a question.

"Yeah." was Ray's answer again

The young woman's eyes watered, "When is it going to end, Ray? When are you going to stop killing?"

Ray stopped what he was doing and approached the young woman on the bed, "This is my last job." Ray said he used his right hand to gently caress her cheek, "After this, we can finally get away from everyone."

"But…….I have a bad feeling about this, won't you please stay here with me instead?"

"Don't worry about it." he said pulling her into his arms, "I love you, Nina."

Nina just sighed in his chest and said, "I love you too, Ray."

"Nina…….."

"Ray………"

WHACK!

"Ouch!" Ray shouted in pain as he bolted straight up from his chair glaring at Maaya, "What the hell's your problem?!"

"We're nearing Char, so get yourself ready." Maaya said already moving towards the door, her job done.

"How long are we staying there?" asked Ray

"Just a quick stop for some repairs and extra supplies." answered Maaya before leaving the bridge

"If things in life were just that simple, I hope my usual luck doesn't hold up." Ray said sighing as he radioed the planet's spaceport

"Nerima Spaceport this is the Ragnarok requesting permission to dock and request for repairs."

Less than a minute later a response came from the spaceport control tower,

"Crew of Ragnarok, this is Nerima Spaceport, permission to dock approved. You're to head Dock # 7, I repeat, Dock #7. Repair crews are standing by waiting for you arrival. The bill for the repairs will be included in the fees."

"Thanks a lot Chief, E.T.A. less than five minutes, over and out." Ray said as he cut the transmission between the ship and the control tower. He stood up from the chair and headed for the exit,

"I'll let you take over from here, Melfina."

"No problem, Ray." the ship's AI responded as Ray disappeared through the door

_Later that day..._

It was finally late at night, around three in the morning. Ranma was lying awake in his room next to a sleeping panda, he called father. Slowly he stood up and made this way towards the closet where a small pack filled with some spare clothes was hidden, he also put on a black shirt and pants, along with his normal slippers.

The cursed boy slung the rucksack over his shoulders and walked back to Genma, he pulled his father, along with the futon he was lying on, to the side. This revealed a partially broken floorboard, which could be removed; Ranma did that and saw a bag under wooden board.

He found his father's secret stash a few days ago but he never got the chance to see just how much money the panda was hiding. Well, Ranma was very surprised and shocked to see around 25,000 Fol in the container. It wasn't quite enough to buy a ticket for a ship but it was still a huge amount, which Ranma would gladly take.

He was lucky that there was just enough space in his pack left for it to fit in. After all the money was packed away, he found out that there was a letter on the bottom of his father's bag. He took it out and looked from where it came.

((Zoological Garden? What do they want from Oyagi?)) asked Ranma in wonderment and started reading all of it

'_Dear Mr. Saotome,_

_We are glad to tell you that, thanks to your panda's help, our problems have been solved. All of the females have been impregnated, which is almost a wonder for pandas._

_In all of my years as director of a zoo I've never seen a male panda so eager to have sexual intercourse and even though it is strange, we are happy for it. If the resulting offspring is just half as active as father, then in a few years the pandas won't be endangered anymore._

_... ...' _(1)

Ranma had to stop reading after the first too paragraphs, he was feeling too sick to read on. He couldn't believe that his father would do such a thing; it was just too weird.

"Great... I have panda siblings..." stated the cursed boy dryly, "Hmm... I wonder what mom will do, if she reads this letter. Let's find out."

Ranma quickly left the Tendo property and made his way to the port, he was lucky that his mother's house was located in the same direction. The streets were almost empty, with the occasional car passing him by.

In almost fifteen minutes he reached his mother's house, he dropped the letter of his father along with one he wrote himself into the mailbox. Ranma gave the house one last look and disappeared into the night.

From his mother's house it was only another ten minutes before he reached the spaceship harbor. It was the biggest building in all of Nerima, since it had enough space to house around 20 normal ships and 5 battlecruisers.

((That's frickin' town in and on itself...)) thought Ranma in awe of his surroundings

He walked into the port and saw that there were around 7 ships docked. There were only a few people, most probably mechanics that were on night shift. Gradually he checked each spaceship out, careful not to be noticed by the workers.

When he got to the last one, a large heavily customized ship, he noticed that it had been in a battle. The hull had several breaches and around ten men were doing the repairs on it. Ranma guessed that they would be finished in a few hours. When he already began to think that there were too many people to sneak in, his gaze fell onto the elevator to the freight room.

It had been let down on the ground and he saw a brown-haired man and a silver-haired woman talking to one of the mechanics. The man nodded and then yelled to the other workers,

"Hey guys, short break!"

The others shouted cheerfully in response and got away from the ship. The man and the woman from before also walked away and to a nearby bar, where the people working at the harbor could relax.

He also took note that they left the entrance to the freight room open. Ranma used the opportunity that all the workers left the ship to sneak towards the elevator. Once there he jumped into the ship, it had been a very big room, around two and a half times as big as the Tendo Dojo and it was filled with several metal containers. Ranma looked around and saw his rucksack lying near one of the crates.

He walked over to it and picked it up, "Great, I didn't even have to use the Umisenken. Now where should I hide?"

He quickly searched through the hall, all the while avoiding the cameras that were supervising the room. Ranma soon found a ventilation shaft near one of the corners; it was blocked by a grating though. This didn't bother him at all, with a quick pull he ripped it from its place and laid it on the ground.

Ranma placed his pack on the grating and crawled into the shaft feet first, once he was completely finished he pulled his rucksack with him inside. The cursed boy then took the grating and held it against the opening so that it would seem undamaged from the outside.

He sighed, "Now I only have to wait for this thing to leave the planet."

_The bar..._

It was a run down building full of smoke and the smell of liquor but other than that it was kept pretty clean. It being part of a spaceport of the government may have to do something with it. Ray and Maaya were sitting at the counter; she was drinking a tall glass full of iced jasmine tea, while her partner nursed a bottle of beer.

"Say, did you notice the kid that was looking at the Ragnarok?" asked Ray casually

"Yeah, what about it?" replied the woman, while taking a sip from her drink

"I bet 5000 Fol that he'll cause us some kind of trouble."

"You're on."

"So... why did you want the workers to take a break? I thought we didn't want to stay for long."

"Did you take a look at them? They were working for hours. I don't want those tired guys to ruin my ship."

Ray raised an eyebrow at her statement, "I must have missed something but since when is that your ship alone? I clearly remember that I was the one who bought it. On a side note, if you have noticed most of the workers that were tending to our ship are in here, now you will have drunken and tired men repairing our ship."

"... Okay, I haven't considered everything when I gave them the break but they're professionals, I doubt they'll drink too much, unless they can afford that their employer is being sued by us because they screwed up."

She said it just loud enough for some of the before-mentioned workers to hear it, quickly this message spread through the bar and only a minute later the tavern was missing ten of its customers.

"That was mean." stated Ray

"Hey, it woke them up and they could get a small pause. What else can someone want?" responded Maaya with a smile on her face, "By the way, wasn't it you who plundered my account to get the money for the ship?"

"No, I took your money for the Creation Cannon, that's why you could name it." responded Ray, "I still can't figure out why you gave it the name Halconnen though, it sounds ridiculous."

"I'll have you know that I think the name Halconnen is perfectly fine. It's better than the name you chose for the ship... I mean, who in their right mind would call a ship 'Ragnarok'? I don't even want to know what you would have called the cannon."

"I thought the name Creation Cannon was perfectly fine." replied Ray, copying her earlier statement

"I just think that it is silly to use the word 'creation' in the same sentence as 'cannon'. It doesn't make any sense."

"Why? It's a cannon that uses the power of creation, thus the name Creation Cannon. I don't know what's so complicated about that."

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I know how it works but that doesn't change the fact that the name is ridiculous."

Just in that moment Ray's communicator started beeping. He quickly reached for it and activated the device. Then he held it to his ear,

/ Ray, do you hear me? / asked the familiar voice of Melfina

"What is it?"

/ The silent alarm in the freight room has been activated. The entrance to one of the fake air shafts has been breached. / explained the young woman, / Proceed as usual? /

Ray smiled, 5000 easy earned Fol, "Yeah, wait one or two minutes and activate the sleeping gas. Then send a team to the room and let them check the breach. If someone's there then bring them to one of the cells."

/ Understood. / replied Melfina, already knowing the process, she just wanted to reaffirm, / Over and out. /

"Yeah, yeah... thanks for telling though." he deactivated the communicator and slipped it back into one of his pockets, and then he looked back to his friend Maaya with a very cocky grin but said nothing.

"Breach in one of the fake air shafts?"

"Yup."

"... ...so when do you want your money?"

"You don't have to hurry, one or two hours is long enough." he said while his grin broadened, Ray took a last sip of his beer and stood up, "You can start with paying for my beer. I'll go back to the ship."

He waved and left the bar, leaving Maaya to glare after him, "I hate it when he's right. It makes him so arrogant... at least more than usual."

"Barkeeper, I'm going to pay!" she shouted towards the man on the other side of the counter

He walked over towards her and said, "Do you plan to pay for your friend too?"

"Yeah... here, just take it out of my card." replied Maaya, while hading him her credit card.

"Good, someone's finally paying for his tab. I already thought that I was going to wait for all eternity for this." he shook his head and pulled the card through a machine on the counter

"W-wait a minute? What tab? What're you talking about?"

"Oh... the one about... let's see... 11,000 Fol."

Maaya's face became stone cold and the knuckles of her hands whitened as she clenched them into fists,

"I'm going to kill him."

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(1) Ewwww…..taking the word "bestiality" to a whole new level…….


End file.
